LOTTA

Saturday, December 21, 2019

It is reported that constitutional status would be granted to Misings and other tribal councils of Assam by the government.The information is confusing because the specific report is not saying about Sixth Schedule. It is said that the chief executive member of the councils would be an ex-officio member of sub-divisional land advisory committee.

There are reports or cabinet decisions for various packages ranging from education, autonomous councils , financial packages, wage increment in tear gardena to state holiday targeted at the six communities demanding schedule tribe status in Assam.

Therefore, regarding so called constitutional status reports in media other than Sixth Schedule is short of the demand by the Mising national organizations.

What could be the constitutional status then?

Else, the Constitution of India have to add certain parts that will mention about these tribal councils.

What is it specifically?

Like Article 371 (A), where there is a protected clause for Nagaland's own control over resources , customary law and practices, there can be a constitutional clauses specifying the tribal councils' land , customs , traditions, social identity etc.

However, there is no clarity on the entire issues. The BJP led state government in Assam seems engaging in political manuevering to deal with the public dissent. These reports are emerging in Assam amidst rising protests against citizenship reforms in the state as well as across the country.

Saturday, April 27, 2019

The Misings in Upper Assam continue to lose most of their arable territory to constant floods, forcing the affected people to look for alternate living spaces. Often, they find themselves occupying land in protected forest areas, leading to conflict and opposition; both from conservation groups and the local population of the region.
Read more : https://www.epw.in/author/bhasker-pegu-and-manoranjan-pegu

Monday, February 26, 2018

Mising tribesmen inhabiting the Laika and Dodhia areas of Dibru Saikhowa national park in Upper Assam has been struggling for survival space due to continuous flood and erosion coupled with government restrictions since last year. They have been met with opposition from the locals that include indigenous groups and colonial era migrants whenever they were trying to settle down in government notified forest land over last one year. Some section of Assamese dailies have reported the news in a most disparaging manner with the use of words such as khedar parikalpana korise (planning to chase away), khedi pothiouwa (chased away) while reporting the incidents happening in Tinsukia district. The news items with provocative content are no less than incitement to inter-group conflict given the social climate in Assam. It is against public taste of ethical and impartial journalism expected from the local Assamese language media.

Apparently, the government has failed to rehabilitate the suffering people that has compelled them to look for settlement in forest areas in their own. On July, 2017 there was written understanding between the representatives of Mising student union TMPK and the government authorities that the people would be rehabilitated in eight months after similar events erupted in the district.

When even illegal migrants cannot be expelled forcefully by the state but have to follow the procedure established by Indian laws, it is quite disheartening that marginalized indigenous tribe like Mising are accorded with partisan and contemptuous words in the heights of plight in the Assamese language press. Flood, erosion and legal restrictions in National Park have already crippled the Mising tribesmen but some Assamese language media who are dominant in Brahmaputra Valley are celebrating the sufferings with their disparaging and vexatious content devoid of public responsibility and civility. It is no less than adding salt to the wounds.

One can find the proof of content published in Assamese dailies: Niyomiya Barta and Dainik Janambhumi on 25 and 26 February, 2018.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

In the month of July, 2017, rural people dwelling in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park from indigenous Mising community were left without a choice amidst opposition of resettlement in Torani reserved forest in Tinsukia district of upper Assam by organizations of indigenous Moran group as well as colonial-era migrant groups such as Adivasis and Gorkhas/ Nepalis. There was ethnic tension between the park dwellers looking for settlement and local people resulting in stand-off for nearly a week.

Source: Pratidin Time Youtube Handle

The ill-conceivedly declared Dibru Saikhowa National Park straddles between Tinsukia and Dibrugarh district. The human dwellers of celebrated protected area who were apparently affected by flood came looking for higher ground for shelter as well as settlement. The media figured​ it as about 700 men and women. The stand-off was a sort of humanitarian crisis as the Misings were left like 'people of nowhere'. Thus, the tension in ethnic groups from a bigger angle reflects the fight for scarce and most valued resource: land. Even if it is a reserved forest, that is under the government, the people won't allow to settle even an indigenous community whose land has been sacrificed for a greater purpose such as protected areas-national park as the local people wants to preserve it as forest area itself.

The events led to moderate level media coverages in Assamese dailies such as Asomiya Pratidin( with a front page article in the following day of incident by a Mising journalist based in Jonai), Dainik Janambhumi and English daily, The Telegraph. Even Pratidin Time, a local television channel, showed video footages of the stand-off. But it was surprising that none from the civil society groups including the top-notch public intellectuals in Assam utter a voice regarding the helplessness of the tribal people. Is not it a selective silence on such a humanitarian issue?

Since the places has been declared as protected area(national park) under India's laws in 1999, the people of the villages such as Laika and Dodhia are living with a fearful life of dispossession, helplessness and uncertainty. Talks of relocation were in paper and in the words of bureaucrats and politicians but has never been fully implemented. People have no right to build concrete houses. They have no access to state benefits such as housing, health care, education, drinking water and electricity. Is not this a reckless conservation system? Where are those conservation groups at the time of crisis? It is despicable that environmental and wildlife conservation groups did not mince a word at time of stand off at Tarani. Conservation groups may be in need of human rights education as well in addition to what they eulogized.

According to local account, the population in the park is 12,000. They have been in the villages since ages. Some were resettled by the government after the great earthquake of 1950 and some villagers were already settled there even before that. Government who became a source of blessings in1950s has turned out to be curse in 21st century. Putting animal protection first rather than human beings!Human-beings are becoming victims of conservation politics.

Although Assamese dailies does not provide eye-catching front page headlines, they cared to publish few news items in the inside pages about the sufferings of indigenous Misings.

In the first half of August, 90+ Mising women were put into jail in the same Tinsukia district Some included lactating mothers with child. The women were​ accused of encroachment of Namphai reserved forest. Women are bearing the brunt of fight for living space now. The people who are accused of encroachment are from flood affected riverine areas often prone to erosion and sandcasts leading to landlessness. This has pushed people to fight for survival at the risk of their lives and inviting legal troubles in newer territories.

When people are struggling for basic needs: food and shelter within Assam, this must be enough to raise the conscience of thinking people. Still these incidents are not enough to generate the will of civil society groups and intellectuals to raise their voice for the helpless tribals. May be because of less political stake and influence in the power dynamics in Assam!

There are talks of rehabilitation of refugees and migrants including grant of citizenship to various religious groups from neighbouring countries of India for quite sometime​ now. One may wonder whether such struggling indigenous tribe within India be declared as refugees in order to get the same priorities and attention of the policymakers and ruling establiments.

Some may claims my observations are not true, therefore, sources of the above facts are provided below:

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

The news report in Assamese dailies says that five persons which include teenagers from Dighali village was tied up in a tree at Gelua Tinali near Silapathar in Dhemaji district of Assam and stabbed by knives after a minor scuffle with immigrant Muslim settlers on April 14, 2017. The teenagers named Takuli Mili, 16 and Matang Morang, 17 from Dighali village were returning from market centre after doing a television recharge. Three other youths too were tortured by the immigrants who came to rescue their friends. The injured youths were admitted in Dhemaji civil hospital in night itself. The youth belongs to ethnic minorities group called Mising. They are recognized as Schedule Tribe under Indian constitution. Police arrested 11 persons out of the 19 persons involved in the stabbing incident in 48 hours as pre-emptive measure to prevent inter-group conflict. It is said that the following morning tribal villagers came to immigrant Muslim village looking for the tormentors but police fired bullets on air and tear gas shell to disperse the agitated people. The district administration clamped Section 144 /curfew but in between one cowshed and a dome of paddy straw was lit with fire. The local legislative member, Bhubon Pegu took a stick and engaged along with police in dispersing the agitated villagers, the dailies reports. The women folk took to protest alleging that even after four days all the persons involved in the gruesome incident were not arrested by police.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

There has been a consistent effort from chauvinist quarters to undermine and destroy the identities of small ethnic groups in Assam. The ethnic groups are victims of suppression in terms of the language and culture because they are hardly influential in political arena where electoral politics takes precedence and more importance to numbers than humane consideration in a populous country like India. I would like to point out a latest unethical public policy carried out by the Indian Railways where Mising ethnic group's identity has been sidelined in their own inhabited region which can be called "denial of identity, recognition and belongingness"through hegemonic nomenclature practice on particular train that connects to their soil from the main city of Assam, Guwahati.

The railway notification for the nomenclature. Source: NFR/ Facebook page

The Kamakhya-Murkongselek Intercity Express that was started in 2015 after a gap of decade due to conversion to broad gauge (BG) brought many cheers to the people in upstream north bank of Siang river, the region characterized by underdevelopment and non-industrialization in Assam. Being inhabited mostly by tribals, it is one of the most neglected region in the state. Silapathar, which is in the same region, was recently in news due to the attack on a local office of influential student union by supporters of refugee rights body.

The train to Murkongselek, which was once a part of North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) now Arunachal, was introduced post-1962 Sino-Indian war as metre gauge (MG) line in 1976. The foothill Mising inhabited region was clubbed under the "Excluded Areas" (Sadiya and Balipara Frontier Tracts ) in the colonial British period that followed restrictive intervention in interaction and policy matters and total exemption from provincial laws unlike the other plains part of Assam.The then MG train was named Arunachal Express. But, what surprises many in recent times in greater Murkongselek region (also known as Jonai) is the Indian Railways lack of demographic and cultural sensitivity after the introduction of BG line. Without any consultation with any quarters, the train was named via notification in March , 2017 as Lachit Express, which has no cultural resonance with the place. The Mising people, who are otherwise the second largest tribal group, having their own language and culture, came under the grip of hegemonic project adopted by ruling elite's parochial nationalists. The Mising has no influential and conscious leaders in the political quarters which could had exert influence or offer resistance to such chauvinist policy. There has been many trains running from dominant Assamese elite belt such as Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Guwahati , Kamakhya which are also a developed and industrialized region located in the south bank for many decades almost to all parts of India. The majoritarian communities has produced influential leaders who has enormous say in policy matters of Assam since the post-independent period. There cannot be just one but ten of trains named after the great general Lachit Borphukan. But it remain a questionable policy as to why the north bank's tribal belt was targeted?

The order copy from Indian Railways to Guwahati office. Source: Facebook

These trains running for decades in southern bank of Siang/ Brahmaputra has never been named Lachit Express but some has quietly pushed the nomenclature to a place where train has been introduced in recent times. It may be noted that Rajen Gohain, a long time BJP Assamese MP is the minister of state for railways in India whereas Suresh Prabhu is the union minister of railways. The policy matters relating to Assam and the northeast must have been under the Assam minister's charge. If he was not aware of it or involved in naming it, he should help in withdrawing the same as matter of ethical public policy practice .

Screenshot from IRCTC app, notice the nomenclature

Source: The Assam Tribune news on inauguration of new train to Murkongselek in June 19, 1976

The train to Murkongselek was named Arunachal Express. The news report also mentioned Murkongselek was in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Naharlagun-Guwahati Intercity Express was named Donyi Polo Express with an indigenous name which literally means Sun-Moon, respecting the animist belief of the indigenous tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. In the same vein, why the only train that connects Mising inhabited place from Guwahati be not named with a fitting cultural nomenclature? If not, the train should be reverted to previous name itself i.e. the destination nomenclature and be left without any hegemonic politics. This hegemony over small tribes by majoritarian elite must stop in Assam, they should know to respect and provide space of identity of belongingness and presence in the fruits of infrastructure development too.

The train was inaugurated by then Assam CM Sarat Chandra Sinha,one of most progressive chief minister Assam ever had, in presence of S. Tayeng from AP due to absence of CM Prem Khandu Thungon..

Oi nitom, a form of Mising folk song, composed based on "Intercity Express" will be a living testimony against imposition of nomenclature.

There must be equality for all people irrespective of their numbers in our democracy. There should not be forced and malicious imposition. Assam has multiple cultures, it does not just belong to certain privileged linguistic groups. The composite character must be uphold.

N.B. We are not against Lachit's ideals and his great deeds in protecting Assam. One of our great warriors Miri Sandikoi was subordinate of Lachit, fought in the historic battle of Saraighat of 1671 to repel Mughal invaders. Many Mising soldiers took part in the battle.For further details on the role of Miri Sandikoi (Hazarika), please read eminent historian Surya Kumar Bhuyan's book , Lachit Borphukan and His Times. The step taken by Ministry of Railways reflects Mising's contribution to peace and harmony being undermined, cultural insensitivity and ignorance about the demographic significance of the region.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

As the regional
television channels, local dailies and social media users are updating their
views on noted ethnic Mising Tani leader Ranoj Pegu’s exit in the context of
upcoming Dhemaji by-poll, I felt I should write on this transition that would
likely to have implications in the Mising nationality’s political life in
particular and northeast Assam’s politics in general in the years to come. The
Misings are the second largest recognized Schedule Tribe social group in Assam.

Since the 1980s,
Mising people has been demanding political autonomy under the Sixth Schedule
even before Ranoj Pegu’s entry into marginalized tribal people’s movement. The
Mising Agom Kebang (MAK), the literary body, was formed in 1972. The MAK too
had the roots with Adi and Mising tribes students and teachers led alfresco
feast while in Cotton College, one of the oldest centres of higher learning,
founded in 1901 in northeast India. The apex body, Mising Bane Kebang, was formed as old as in 1924 in the colonial
period. Student organizations such as the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK) had
the history of organization in co-ordination with Adi students since the days
of India’s independence in 1947.

Ranoj Pegu is known
for Left-oriented political inclination. It is said that Vinod Mishra faction
of Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) had considerable
influence on Karbi and Mising national
organizations struggling for autonomous state and constitutional autonomy in
their respective inhabited areas. I
called it Leftist-orientation because Mising ethnic movement is independent of
Left parties although it has mixed influences of Marxist, Leninist and Maoist politicalphilosophy. Pegu, a son of civil servant originally
hailing from fringes of Kaziranga National Park of Bokakhat, is said to be
educated in Shankardev Seminary at Jorhat and Guwahati Medical College and
Hospital. However, Ranoj Pegu is more contemporaneous in north bank of Siang
river of Assam where majority of the Mising lives. He mostly shuttles between
Gogamukh, head quarter of MAC, of which he is the chief executive member and
Guwahati, the capital city of Assam. There were fratricidal clashes in 1990s
between the supporters of Indian National Congress party-influenced Mising
Autonomous Demand Committee (MADC) and the national bodies such as the TMPK, Mising
Mimag Kebang (MMK), Takam Mising Mime Kebang (TMMK) in Mising inhabited
areas. The intense struggle for
supremacy and influence among the political organizations created an atmosphere of chaos and
anarchy in the less-governed inaccessible Mising territories of those times. The infamous
1995 Bilmukh killings of Mising ethnic nationalists over the grant of
boundary-less Mising Autonomous Council (MAC) by security personnel was the
consequence of tussle and differences among the ethnic leaderships.

Come 21st
century, there was a change in the political course in Mising autonomy
movement. During the early Congress-led state government, after regionalist
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) was defeated in 2001,
constituted Cabinet sub-committee to study the feasibility of Sixth Schedule based autonomy but it was met
with violent opposition from neighboring indigenous communities in the north
bank of Siang/ Brahmaputra river. The government
response was due to the Mising-Rabha-Tiwa alliance popular movements in their
respective belts and demonstrations for autonomy in New Delhi and Dispur. Thus,
it led to undeclared moratorium of growing intense non-violent political mobilization for autonomy. In 2006, the Mising leadership prior to state assembly poll with
other sympathizers in their inhabited areas founded the Sanmilita Ganshakti,
Asom, a micro-regional party with Leftist orientation that claimed to fight for
marginalized communities in the upstream belt of north bank of Siang in Assam. It
vowed to wage ‘’parliamentary struggle’’ instead of armed movement in contrast
to the tendency of many ethnic groups in northeast India. However, in contrary
to perception from media it would be wrong to called Ganshakti as Mising-only
party. It draws supporters and political aspirants from neighboring
communities in the Tani belt. A simple analysis of elected representatives of MAC in 2013 poll clears the air. By
then, the political tempo had resulted in strong support-base for pro-Sixth
Schedule voice particularly in Jonai, Dhemaji, Majuli and Dhakhuakhana constituencies
challenging the ruling Congress party along with parallel anti-autonomy organizations mainly from the indigenous non-tribal Assamese-speaking populace. Bhubon Pegu won the Jonai
constituency in 2006 from Ganshakti party. In 2011, he lost to Congress’
candidate Pradan Baruah. Bhubon Pegu, son of a forest officer from Silapathar,
has the distinction of being a former general secretary of Cotton College Union
Society (CCUS) at prestigious Cotton College. Pegu has huge following in
Mising-inhabited areas which was established during his days at TMPK and
subsequent struggle for Sixth Schedule based autonomy. Sixth Schedule became a buzzword
in Mising society in early 2000s during his leadership for political autonomy
where Johan Doley was the president of TMPK. In 2016, he won again with the distinction of
being the only independent candidate elected to Assam assembly when there was
Modi-wave in most of constituencies of Assam that promised security for ‘jati,
mati and bheti (nation, land and homestead) under the leadership of former All Assam
Students’ Union (AASU) leader, Sarbananda Sonowal. It may be recalled that the Ganshakti, having Leftist-orientation, did not enter into pre-poll alliance unlike other smaller parties in the 2016 Assam poll.

The Mising political imagination
of achieving constitutional autonomy is on the crossroad. The main steering figures
of non-violent political struggle for autonomy such as Ranoj Pegu joining of
BJP and Bhubon Pegu’s hinting of joining
the saffron outfit marks an era of mainstreaming of Mising ethnic nationalism to pan-Indian
nationalist fold after a break of three decades. Three decades can be counted
from post-Assam Accord (1985) to BJP’s triumph with the mantra of aligning the “khilonjia’’
(indigenous) in 2016 assembly election. The advent of populist Hindu nationalist fervor
since 2014 together with many regional sub-nationalist leaders aligning with
BJP in Assam may be attributed to the exit of ethnic leaders. And most
significantly, the decades of experiences and experiments of parliamentary
politics on Mising ethnic nationalist plank could be the factors behind this
development.

Drawing from theories
of international relations, the latest political development in Mising
political life may be identified as “endism''. Endism is different from
declinism. While declinism is conditionally pessimistic that provides warning
to the pathway to historical decline of ethnic politics and longing for reverse
political state but endism signifies unwavering optimism with the illusion of
well-being and escape from history (emphasis added). According to Sameul P.
Huntington, endism does not provide corrective action but relaxed
complacency. There is a widespread hope, optimism and complacency in the society
that Mising ethnic leaders are joining the alliance of powers. Endism, when
consequences are met with errors, could be far more “dangerous and subversive.”
The ‘political’ Mising society, bereft
of its key personalities and ideologues, may riddle into disarray. It may also lead to 'no exit" at all from the ethnic politics but a shift in the cycle of Mising ethnic nationalism. Nevertheless,
the forthcoming by-poll of Dhemaji constituency, whether Ranoj Pegu wins or
loses, would be an outlier in the political history of the community.

(Views expressed here are entirely personal. This article doesn't reflect the views of institutions or organizations the author is associated with.)

Thursday, July 14, 2016

I am writing this piece to share my experiences and thoughts regarding the central government of India's initiative called Skill India Mission. I was really amazed by such initiatives started by the government.

I thought the mission to skill our youth population would give a much needed employment space especially for rural youths. When I went to Delhi in February 2016, I saw Skill India mission advertisements in many city bus stoppages which I felt this must be a grand and serious initiatives for reaping the demographic dividends.

Image courtesy: businesstoday.in

Back home, months ago I encouraged some of our youths that a free three months course for tribal unemployed youth are imparted in CIPET, Changsari, located in the outskirts of Guwahati in north bank of Brahmaputra river.

A neighbour boy who was educated up to BA in the local college of Dhemaji district showed interest in

joining the course. Out of their hard earned money, he rushed to Dhemaji's industries and commerce office and submitted the necessary documents. One day while his illiterate father was working in crop field, he got a call from Guwahati and listened the term 'Plastic". His son was informed and he comprehended later that it was a official call for the much waited course.

I took the boy in following days to join the course in the institute. The course was machine operator course relating to manufacturing of plastic materials. When some more villagers heard of the course, I was contacted by some boys including their parents expressing interest to join such skill development course provided if a work is guaranteed thereafter completion. There was some boys who even wanted to discontinue their college studies to join the course because their parents had problems in arranging their resources for higher education. Since the required qualification to do such course was matriculation only, many in fact match up to the eligibility. The boy informed that there were number of boys coming from Arunachal Pradesh and some even from Tripura.

Two more boys later joined such course in the institute.

The interested first boy joined and completed the course successfully. He got a work in Dimapur, a town which is regarded as Nagaland's commercial hub. He worked for an individual owned plastic factory that produces items like mugs, buckets, bottles etc.

He worked for three months. He came home but told me he won't return to his workplace again. Why? I asked.

He said the working hours is terrible. If you starts from nine in the morning you have to work up to nine in the evening. Or if some starts his duty from 12 pm he have to work until 12 am. Six days a week.

The salary is fixed at 6000 INR initially. If there is consistency for three months or more it would be increased up to 8000 INR, they were told.

I am talking about the working conditions for skilled youths in northeastern region of India. Even the amount of remuneration needs to be seriously discussed.

Image courtesy: nsdcindia.org

When an individual left his home to earn his livelihood, don't we need to consider the liabilities back home? Now, he is skilled, overworked and underpaid.

Can't we make policies which is decent with working hours and perfect with perks? Or should we still work 12 hours to earn 6000 INR a month? Is this what meant Skill India Mission for the youths intertwined with uncertain glory? Where is the pragmatism to show the hopes? Can there be something call regulations? I hope our policymakers ponder over these issues.

What will the particular boy do now? He would go either to tap rubber again for estate owners in Arunachal Pradesh, the skill he learned already while in village or work in the field to help his father. Skill was cultivated in the hope of better tomorrow. But it did not happen.